Milton Keynes College has cause for celebration at the Equality Council’s Diversity Ball recently where they were presented with the ‘Championing Change’ award for ‘Achieving Equality and Diversity in Education and Widening Participation.
Double Diversity Celebration for Milton Keynes College
This news comes only weeks after the College was deemed the first organisation in Milton Keynes and the second largest college in the country to achieve the Investors in Diversity National Standard.
"It is great to have the recognition from the National Centre for Diversity and the Milton Keynes Equality Council for our work on promoting equality and diversity," commented Joan Martin, Equality & Diversity Manager at the College.
In May 2008 the College committed to the four standards that make up the Investors in Diversity award: Committing, Learning, Developing and Improving. During this time the College developed a clear action plan and committed to a range of initiatives, activities and projects across the College that demonstrated our commitment to equality and diversity with staff, students and organisations.
Highlights from the Assessors report:
· “The leadership team show a strong commitment to equality and diversity and are a driving force for embedding inclusion both internally and externally”
· “Certainly my tour of the shared facilities at both campuses was a warm and vibrant experience, where you were able to get a true feel for the diverse culture of the College and it’s commitment to the learner experience”
· “The College has a good range of policies to safeguard staff and students” 
· “The College has a key role in promoting community cohesion and is beginning to be recognised as being at the heart of the diversity agenda in the city”
The external verifier who read the Assessor's report commented "This is one of the most impressive reports seen capturing the commitments and achievements of the college at all levels”. Julie Mills, Deputy Principal at the College commented: "Receiving the award is a fantastic achievement for us as an FE College. The Investors in Diversity standard has enabled us to show that our strategies and polices are clearly translated in to real and tangible practice with our staff, students and organisations that we work with.
We will continue to demonstrate our good practice and prioritise any areas for improvement as promoting equality and diversity is an ongoing journey for any organisation. We aim to share our good practice with other FE colleges and organisations in and around Milton Keynes."
